We’re going to Miami

  
I have had so many awesome adventures this year. 

  
Miami was one of them. 

  
We planned the trip in October because there was an available appointment for the German Embassy so that I could apply for my dual citizenship. 

  
Sadly my dual citizenship was denied (because of a timing thing – I will try again). 

  
However, we did get to enjoy the Spanish Market, the beautiful view, and great meals with friends. 

  
Hey, even Briana, William, and Gage got to be German for a day. 😉
  
  
  
  
  

Let’s bake a film. Wait, what?

  
Birthday cake, funnel cake, wedding cake, cheesecake, coffee cake, pancakes, ice cream cake, cupcakes, birthday cake ice cream, Red velvet cake waffles, birthday cake vodka… Everyone loves cake. It’s quite versatile in the sweets world. 

  
Creating a film is a lot like baking a cake. You’ve got the recipe, the ingredients, the time, and the end result. 

  
When baking your movie, you’ve got to start with the recipe. First, the ingredient list, or in this case, the script. It is the content of your cake. It’s going to tell you the characters, the settings, the special effects, the time of day, how many eggs you need… A compelling recipe makes you buy all of those ingredients. 

  
As you move down the recipe, you hit the instructions. The instructions is everything preproduction. Sure, some people bake a cake with no instructions. However, as a project manager, distributing the workload when more than just myself is involved helps when I have a list of action items to get the project done. 

  
Cake-baking-movie-making instructions start with assigning roles: lights, camera, action… This saying didn’t become popular because it was useless:

  
Who is running lights? Who is running the camera? Who is running sound? Who is directing? Who is keeping everyone together? Who is supplying the equipment? 

Casting? When? Who? Rehearsals? 

  
Once you have bought the ingredients and have an understanding of the instructions, you are not out of preproduction yet (you do have an oven, right? Or this is going to be a no bake cake): 

  
Organizing the filming day. It can be one of the most stressful tasks, balancing everyone’s schedules and requirements. Communicating efficiently so that everyone gets the right information as soon as it is available. 

  
Time to mix the ingredients; Film day(s) can be quite an adrenaline rush. You’ve got everything coming together, maybe a bump or two in the road, and then you are off to the editing phase. It’s really that quick. 

  
With correct amount of time invested in preproduction, film days are smooth and almost stress free. By stress free I mean, not stopping mid-mixing to realize you forgot to get eggs, and having to make a quick trip to the grocery store. 

  
Editing is the actual baking of the cake. Let your editing oven do their thing. 

  
Set out to cool, add the icing (you know – marketing, social media, posters, meet n greets, trailers…) 

  
The voila! You have a cake. Share to your hearts content (YouTube? Film festivals? Movie theaters?) and once you are all out of cake, you will be ready to make another. 

  
Let’s bake a cake together. 

  

***Special thanks to Kevin Almodovar, Kalina Patterson, and everyone who has invested time in me withall of their cake baking lessons. I look forward to learning so much more about the film industry. 

  

NOLA Halloween

    

It is such a blessing to live in a location where I can easily get to 3 big cities (New Orleans, Orlando, or Atlanta) in under six hours. It is even more of a blessing to be able to go at all. 

   

 
This Halloween a group of friends and I headed to New Orleans to celebrate. Civilians during the day, and criminals at night. 

   

 
It was quite fun being Catwoman for the evening. A flair for mystery and a whip for a weapon, we spent the night terrorizing the town (and any Batman in sight).    

 
We even had an opportunity to join with other villains! 

    

And our look alikes!

  
:-* ❤ 
  

South Walton Fashion Week

South Walton Fashion Week was another success. I walked in Thursday and Fridays show. (Oct 9 and 10, 2015). 

I walked for Grand Boulvard Orvis and Fabrik on Thursday. 
   
 
On Friday I walked for the 30A Collection by Amy Giles 

  

As always, such an amazing opportunity! I love getting to be apart of such an awesome event. 

New Balance

This will be strange to some, but I have a habit of trying to plan out my life. Everywhere from finances to goals, to daily plans to social interactions. I know, I know… “How do you plan social interactions and stay genuine?”  Well, I haven’t quite figured that one out, but I believe it is all part of seeking out a new balance, and I don’t mean the shoes. 

Many times throughout the year, I list down goals. Career goals, hobby goals, “me” goals (spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental bettering of ones self). I also list down family and friend goals. 

I have always found it interesting that Jesus only had 12 disciples. I mean, He’s Jesus… Surely he could speak into the lives more intimately than that of just 12 followers? Yet, He chose only 12 (sinners I might add, tax collectors, fisherman, prostitutes… But that is not for this blog) that he kept close to him in His daily walk. 

Studies have shown that you become the 5 closest people to you. You lean toward their good and negative traits, habits, choices. 

Danny Silk (though not the pioneer of the thought, his writings have strongly influenced my life) talks about your inner circle, and how not everyone should have access to your core. 

With all of this being said, at the end of the day, you need to find balance. Balance for yourself, and your personal needs, while also balancing your social needs. 

I like to write down a list of my daily interactions with people, and ask myself the following questions:

How can I love these people more?

How am I contributing to their life?

What are they taking from my life?

How can I communicate with them better?

How can I encourage them?

With that being said, the last time I went through this activity, my notes to myself were “I am overextending myself” and “I need to be more intentional with my time.”

If you are to be the light in this world, can you pick out the 12 people you have surrounded yourself with and honestly answer yourself those questions above? Can you answer who the 5 people you have in your life that are influencing your actions and thoughts? Are they more good than bad?

How can you improve you today?